Probate in Colorado: small estates, no will, and skipping court

Updated 2026-10-18

The short answer

In Colorado, family can collect personal property with a small estate affidavit if the estate is $88,000 or less for a 2026 death, starting 10 days after death. The affidavit can't transfer real estate. Larger estates usually use informal probate, without a hearing. Colorado has no estate or inheritance tax.

When someone dies in Colorado, the family's first question is usually practical. Do we have to go to court, and how long will it take?

Often the answer is no, or not for long. This page covers the small estate affidavit, informal probate, the deed that passes a house, and who inherits with no will. It is part of our state guides to estate planning. If the word is new, start with what probate is.

Can my family use a small estate affidavit in Colorado?

Yes, if the estate fits. Colorado lets a successor collect personal property by affidavit (C.R.S. 15-12-1201, Title 15). The limit rises with inflation, so it depends on the year of death. The court's official affidavit form lists it (Colorado Judicial Branch form JDF 999).

Year of death	Small estate limit (net probate property, wherever located)
2026	$88,000
2025	$86,000
2024	$82,000
2023	$80,000

The other rules:

Wait: at least 10 days after death.
No personal representative: no application to appoint one can be pending or granted anywhere.
What it covers: bank accounts, safe deposit box contents, securities, vehicles and similar personal property.
What it doesn't cover: real estate. A house needs another route, such as a beneficiary deed or probate.
No court filing: the affidavit goes straight to whoever holds the property, such as the bank.

Who inherits if there's no will?

Colorado's intestacy law decides. Colorado isn't a community property state, and its rules look at who else survives you (C.R.S. 15-11-102).

Your surviving spouse takes everything if either of these is true:

No descendant and no parent of yours survives you, or
All your descendants are also your spouse's, and your spouse has no other descendants.

Otherwise your spouse takes a set dollar amount plus a share of the rest. The share is three-fourths if you have no descendants but a parent survives, and one-half in the blended-family cases. The statute's dollar amounts are adjusted for inflation each year.

Colorado also lets unmarried people sign a designated beneficiary agreement. A surviving designated beneficiary can take everything if you have no descendants, or half if you do (C.R.S. 15-11-102.5).

Whatever doesn't go to a spouse passes in this order (C.R.S. 15-11-103):

Your descendants.
Your parents. If one parent has died, that parent's descendants (your brothers and sisters, for example) share alongside the surviving parent.
Your parents' descendants: brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.
Your grandparents and their descendants.

Friends never appear on this list. A friend or a charity inherits only through a will or trust. Our post on dying without a will covers what happens when the list runs short.

Who serves as personal representative?

Colorado calls the executor a "personal representative." If more than one person wants the job, the law sets the order (C.R.S. 15-12-203):

The person named in a probated will.
A surviving spouse, or civil union partner, who inherits under the will.
A person given priority in a designated beneficiary agreement.
Others who inherit under the will.
The surviving spouse, or civil union partner.
Other heirs.
Any creditor, 45 days after death.

People in the middle groups may nominate someone else to serve. A personal representative is a fiduciary: legally required to act in the estate's interest and follow what the will says.

Can someone in another state serve?

Yes. Colorado's statute has no residency requirement. The only listed disqualifications are being under 21 (Colorado's minimum age is 21, not 18) or being found unsuitable by the court in formal proceedings. A personal representative appointed in the home state has priority unless the will names someone else.

Informal or formal probate: which one?

Colorado follows the Uniform Probate Code. Most estates use informal probate: an application to the court's registrar, with no hearing (C.R.S. 15-12-301). Formal proceedings go before a judge when there is a dispute or a question to settle.

Court-supervised administration happens only when someone asks for it or the court orders it (C.R.S. 15-12-501).

There is also a quick close for very small estates. If the inventory shows the estate is no more than the exempt property, family allowance, costs of administration, and reasonable funeral and last-illness expenses, the personal representative may pay those out right away and close by sworn statement (C.R.S. 15-12-1203). Our post on the probate process walks through the steps.

How long do creditors have?

The personal representative publishes a notice once a week for three weeks. The deadline it sets can be no earlier than four months after the first publication (C.R.S. 15-12-801).

Known creditors may get a mailed notice, giving them the later of the published deadline or 60 days after mailing. Debts from before death are barred one year after death in any case (C.R.S. 15-12-803). Our post on how long probate takes covers timing more broadly.

How much is the personal representative paid?

Colorado says "reasonable compensation," with no percentage schedule (C.R.S. 15-10-602). The court can review it and order a refund if it was too much. Our post on what an executor gets paid compares approaches.

Can my house skip probate?

Yes, with a beneficiary deed (C.R.S. 15-15-402 to 15-15-405). What to know:

You sign it, and it must be recorded before your death.
The beneficiary doesn't have to sign it, agree to it, or even be told.
The beneficiary has no rights while you are alive.
A will can't revoke it.

There is one real trap. If you are applying for or receiving Medicaid that is subject to estate recovery, a beneficiary deed in effect makes the property a countable resource, and you aren't entitled to that assistance while it stands. Our post on Medicaid estate recovery explains the bigger picture.

A living trust is the other common way to keep a home out of court. Colorado trusts signed on or after August 7, 2013 are revocable unless they say otherwise (C.R.S. 15-5-602). Our posts on what a trustee does and how to avoid probate compare the options.

Will my heirs owe Colorado estate or inheritance tax?

No. The legislature's nonpartisan staff states that no Colorado estate tax filing is required for people who die after December 31, 2004. Colorado replaced its inheritance tax in 1980, so there is none (Colorado Legislative Council Staff).

Which path fits?

Situation	Likely path
Everything passes by beneficiary deed, trust or named beneficiaries	No probate needed for those assets
Personal property only, $88,000 or less for a 2026 death, 10 days have passed	Small estate affidavit, no court filing
Estate barely covers funeral, allowances and costs	Informal probate with a quick close by sworn statement
A house with no beneficiary deed or trust, or a larger estate	Informal probate in most cases
A dispute over the will or who serves	Formal probate before a judge

Here is a typical case, a composite. Barbara, 75, lived in Boulder. She recorded a beneficiary deed naming her niece and kept about $50,000 in the bank. Two weeks after Barbara died, her niece gave the bank the affidavit, and the house passed under the deed. There was no court case.

A Kinly membership includes a will and revocable trust written for your state, with a team on call that has your plan in front of them. If the trust company steps in and settles an estate, that work is charged by the hour, and you see the rates before anything starts.

Before death, the papers that matter most are your powers of attorney. See our Colorado financial power of attorney guide and Colorado medical power of attorney guide.

Common questions

What is the small estate limit in Colorado?

It depends on the year of death because it is adjusted for inflation. For a 2026 death, the court's form lists $88,000. The family must wait 10 days, and the affidavit covers personal property only, not real estate.

Does a surviving spouse inherit everything in Colorado?

Only in some cases: when no descendant or parent survives, or when all descendants are shared and the spouse has no other descendants. Otherwise the spouse takes an inflation-adjusted dollar amount plus a fraction of the rest.

Can someone who lives in another state be a personal representative in Colorado?

Yes. Colorado has no residency requirement. The personal representative must be at least 21 and not found unsuitable by the court.

How long do creditors have in Colorado probate?

At least four months after the first published notice. Pre-death debts are barred one year after death in any case.

Sources

This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws vary by state.

Keep reading

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